Building JAR with NetBeans 4.1

Question

I have a NetBeans 4.1 project. I build a JAR file. So far so good.
When I run:
java -jar AmazonSample.jarI get, "java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: javax/xml/rpc/ServiceException"
Apparently, it can't find "jaxrpc.jar". This file is both in the root of the JAR file and I've also tried copying it to the current working directory next to the the JAR. I try;
java -classpath .\jaxrpc.jar -jar AmazonSample.jarand
java -classpath jaxrpc.jar -jar AmazonSample.jarI still get the same error. As an aside question, can you specify a classpath like that when running a JAR file?
On other projects, I've added a classpath entry to the JAR's manifest file and that works fine. However, NetBeans doesn't provide an easy way to do that.
This must be a very common scenario. How do I resolve?
Thanks!

Answer 1

If you put the jar files in a library and then add that library to compile
and runtime classpaths its works fine running from within the
netbeans but when you try to run the jar outside it doesn't workIt doesn't work because you aren't providing any classpath information. When you run using the -jar variant [java -jar <proggie>] or by clicking the jar in Windows, all external classpath information is disregarded.
The only valid source for classpath information in that case is to provide it in the jar's manifest file, in the form of a Class-Path: <classpath> entry.
To add this to a Netbeans-created jar, look for a file manifest.mf in the Project's files, and add the above entry to this file. NB constructs the actual manifest file from this file, and the classpath entry will transfer.
Here's how to make this work:
1. Create an empty directory test somewhere in the computer.
2. Copy the external library directory or jar file to test.
3. Add the line Class-Path: <name> (where name is the library's directory or jar name) to the manifiest.mf file. If multiple items need to be listed, separate them with a space - not a colon or semi-colon.
CAUTION: The file must end with a linefeed/newline, and as far as I can determine, the <name> can't contain spaces.
4. Build the Project in NB.
5. Copy the jar it creates (in the dist directory) to test.
6 From the test directory, either issue the java -jar <proggie> command or [in Window, assuming your machine is setup to do this] click/double-click the jar.
The contents of test can be zipped for distribution; the recipent needs to unzip into a directory to run.